Former Wheeler Dealers star Edd China has admitted UK electric car owners could be overcharged by garages dealing with a common EV issue. The ex-host of the classic car restoration show and top mechanic suggested that a welded contactor has the potential to even “write off” models in a serious blow.
A welded contactor means a vital EV component has been fused shut due to extreme current or heat. According to Edd, contactors are located “deep” underneath the vehicle, with garages likely to replace the whole battery instead of fixing the affected part. It could see road users end up paying up to £10,000 to fix the issue instead of just a couple of hundred pounds.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Edd said: “Today I’m going to borrow Bosch’s workshop to fix a pretty common problem on EVs that can cost thousands to fix and can even write off a vehicle if not done properly.
“EVs are still a bit of a mystery to some garages and it means even the simplest of faults can be deemed a bit too difficult and therefore are never attempted or a much more expensive route is chosen instead of a simple fix.
“This Nissan LEAF is actually suffering from a classic EV electrical fault, a welded contactor. Now unfortunately the contactors are actually part of the battery pack and are buried deep underneath the car.”
Edd lifted the car onto the jack and quickly went about checking the cables inside the connector. After diagnosing the issue, Edd stressed the contactors were buried deep in the battery pack which is located underneath the car.
After gaining access to the damaged battery, Ed explained how a “less confident garage” couldcharge for unnecessary new parts instead of replacing individual components. But Edd stressed that owners should not tamper with electric vehicles unless they had Level 4 safety training to work on live equipment.
Edd added: “This is our battery. No, obviously at the moment, this is the bit that’s got a fault because of the faulty contractor. The easiest way to fix it perhaps would be to just get rid of this battery, consign it to the scrapheap or the recyclers, and oit a whole new one in and off you go.
“It would be nice and quick and nice and simple but the thing is it could cost thousands and thousands of pounds, perhaps up to £10,000 depending on the model.
“Whereas the component on the inside is considerably cheaper, the whole pack of contactors is about £150. So clearly even though it’s a bit more effort, this would be the kind of time where a less confident garage would charge a customer a huge amount of money, but, actually you could do the customer a fantastic service by just fixing the thing that’s broken.”